Our Hearts Are Monsters
by Cant.Resist
Summary: "A deal?" Hades asked, Peter nodded. He would trade her story for his passage out. Macaria, was Pan's soft spot, the girl who could bottle the sea and hold the world hostage if she wanted to. But it wasn't in her nature, just as it wasn't in his nature to grow up. He had to let her go. Far away from him, and far away from her father.
1. Part I

**CURRENT: THE UNDERWORLD**

He awoke in a familiar room. At first, he thought he had come to in the back of Rumple's shop. His chest burned, as if the dagger was still there. He felt his face, smooth and soft like a child's. He paused. Why had he pictured tired hands and wrinkled skin? Maybe he had dreamt that his son had killed him. The tips of his fingers burned, and his magic didn't feel up to par _._ If he wasn't in Rumple's shop, then where was he? As he took in a whiff of the stale air and sulfur, he seethed, _that slimy, putrid, cre-_

"Rumple? Son?" No answer. No scuttle of a limp leg or a cane. He felt betrayed, by magic, by the shadow, by the prophecy and mostly by his own son. He could feel the rage in his bones; that little bastard had found a loophole.

He smiled bitterly. That boy really had moments, where he felt he was a true fruit of his loins, but they were few and far between. He tried to summon his cloak, but it didn't appear.

He flexed his hand, contemplating how much he did not like this realm. His magic was different and so were the _rules_. He had so much to **learn**. A setback, but he would remedy it as soon as he had a plan.

The door chimed in the front, signaling someone had entered his space. He approached the front from the back room, _where there were still enough trinkets and magical items to keep him occupied_ , he noted. His curiosity fell short when he saw that the king of hell was carelessly fingering through items.

"Hades," he greeted him suspiciously. The last thing Peter Pan was going to do was bow down to a new ruler. Afterlife or no afterlife, he answered only to himself.

"Now, now," Hades twirled a globe with a twitch of his finger. He leaned against the glass case, smirking at the deceivingly young man.

"Peter Pan," he started slowly, "A boy I never had expected to see here."

Peter's eyes narrowed.

"How's my domain treating a legend such as yourself?" Hades couldn't help but prod, the whole situation was comical for him. The green-eyed boy sneered at him. But at the last moment, a wicked smile spread across his face.

"It could be made … _comfortable_. Perhaps a deal could be struck?" Peter suggested, leaving his proposal out on the table.

Hades shrugged. He had nothing better to do. He had all of eternity to play favorites as he plotted against his brothers.

"Possibly," he answered, snapping his fingers. "But perhaps a change in …"

Peter's fur lined cloak morphed into a tailored suit. "Ah much better. A deal looks more promising with a shrewd business suit. I hear the Dark One prefers these nowadays, father like son? _Mhmm_."

Pan was hardly amused, but willing to overlook this indiscretion. After all, he was no longer in his territory, no thanks to Rumple. He tried his utter best not to sneer at the God of the Underworld, well, again at least.

"I want to be left to my own devices, occupying my time with this store," he sighed angrily, " ** _Rumple_** has found a loophole from death."

Hades nodded thoughtfully before posing a question. "In exchange for what? You might have magic here, but you do not want me as an enemy Pan."

The man boy smiled like a viper, ready to strike back. Peter lifted a brow, mocking the millennia-old god with his teenage charms.

"Information of course." _If this store front was as similar as Rumple's_ \- ah- Hades watched the boy pull from under the counter a turquoise bead laid in a cushion. A blue flame sparked above the god's left ear. Peter knew he had the god right where he wanted him. Hades was interested indeed; that bead signified a haunting reminder of something that never progressed. "Providing you can meet my interests equally."

* * *

 **CURRENT: THE ISLAND OF THE BLESSED**

When Neal finally met his maker, _she_ wasn't exactly who he thought it would be. He had seen this girl before in a place he had hoped to forget. Her smile didn't put him off in a way that he thought it should, in fact, it made him grin until his face hurt.

"Sunny!" He scooped up the young woman, swinging her around. She laughed, despite her surprise. This boy, well- _man_ , was much more cheerful than she would have ever expected when seeing her again. He set her down lightly, still grinning as he inspected her person. He rubbed one of her dark dreads in between his pointer and thumb, still straw like and ragged as he remembered. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, making her bright green eyes more prominent. "You look practically the same." She giggled patting his shoulder.

"And you, you're so much _older_!" She exclaimed, touching his beard, and laugh lines on his face. His warm brown eyes greeted her with dose of nostalgia. It had been a long time since she had seen her friend. "Bae, it's so good you're here! I've missed you so!" He embraced her once again, relishing her excitement.

"I've missed you too. I was wondering why you weren't in Neverland," he whispered. She broke the embrace, her smile tight, where her scars were taunt and puckered against the rest of her pale complexion. She was uncomfortable, he could tell, but she tried to grin through it. She was always so wary of giving too much away, but Neal knew something was upsetting her. Finally, he looked past her to find himself in a field near a watering hole and a treehouse, very reminiscent of the shanty she had on Neverland. He turned in confusion, noting there was also a Ferris wheel and roller rink at the end of the grassy retreat. It reminded him of Jersey when he first got to walk down the Boardwalk. He felt her cold hand slip into his own, and he met her waiting green eyes. "Where are we?"

"Our happy places! Where would you like to start? Yours or mine?"

Still uncertain, he shrugged. What did she mean by happy place? Why was his happy place an amusement park?

"Okay then," she said, linking arms with him, "we'll go to mine first!"

* * *

Oh, Hades remembered,

 _Barefoot, pregnant, and delicate. Cordelia, the pale, dark haired beauty of the oceans. A mother goddess to the wakes and tides. An underling to his brother, Poseidon. He had been warned never again to invade in the affairs of his siblings. Taking such a gem under the nose of his prissy brother was the final straw to the others, but loneliness had crept on him suddenly, he never imagined missing his departed Persephone as he did. Cordelia cried to the sea, waiting for him to come. But the situation was out of his hands. He was bound by his brothers, condemned to the Underworld until his heart would beat once more. The final trial, to ensure his punishment, was to break the heart of one who had the power to save him._

 _He could no longer stay in the realm physically, cursed to suffer watching her pain from afar. The night Poseidon had breathed his lies, Cordelia denounced her magic, her calling. She cursed his name until the wee morning hours, finally tearing apart the necklace of pearls and turquoise beading he had bestowed her. When the string snapped, he watched the rolling jewels fall into the depths of the sea._

 _ONE_

 _BY_

 _ONE,_

 _Until the last one disappeared, he knew his current chance had been torn from his grasp. He could no longer afford to dwell on such heartbreak, he needed to find another way to exact his revenge._

"But there is no information that I don't already have," Hades pointed out the obvious. "Besides, your ultimate goal has been achieved, _unending youth_."

Hades had to admit that the boy was hard to unnerve. Whatever information he held he was confident in its value. "But I might make a trade of information if I find it intriguing."

"Pride kills," Pan gestured to himself, "I would know." The god leaned against the display case, twirling the bead in place. "To keep your interest. I'm going to tell you a story."

The god snorted, "A story?" He doubted a tall tale from a rather naughty little boy would rouse much interest.

"Yes," Peter continued, taking no personal offense to Hades' disbelief. It would only contribute to him becoming caught off guard. "It all starts with a story of a girl with forest green eyes and the ability to manipulate the sea."

* * *

Neal slurped down the rest of his milkshake, while absentmindedly dangling from the handmade rope swing. He watched Sunny coax the eggs into staying solid while the fire below cooked the eggs and bread concurrently. For some reason, he didn't understand why she was cooking them in that fashion, couldn't they wish for a stove, or just wish for them made?

"Oh!" Sunny exclaimed, smiling towards Baelfire. "Was I taking too long to cook?" She laughed, placing the plates down for the meal that had appeared finished. He hopped down bounding for the picnic table she had set up. She began cutting into her food immediately while he sat down and stared in an inquisitive manner.

"Is this eggs in a basket?" She nodded thoughtfully, as she cut hers into smaller and smaller pieces. "Why did you make this?" He asked generally wondering.

She paused, setting down her cutlery. Sunny seemed downtrodden by his comment. "I don't mean anything by it. It looks delicious." The white in her knuckles lessened, and she continued cutting her meal to tiny bits. He reached out, caressing her scarred hands. "I'm sorry if I upset you Sunny."

"I make them because they're my favorite. I was thinking, I'll cook yours tomorrow. Was it the porterhouse steak, right?" Neal nodded, still trying to grasp how she knew that. "Because I've been watching for a long time." Apparently, she knew that he would think of these kinds of questions.

"Do you make these because of Pan?"

"Yes," she admitted shamefully. They were her favorite because they were Peter's favorite. He had only made them for her, and she knew now, his boy Rumple. People that had mattered to Peter at one time. She wanted to continue that tradition for people that mattered to her. "He used to make them for your father as well."

Neal was surprised, he hadn't known that. His father had died so quickly in between events that he had never gained details about his father and his _grandfather._

"How would you know that; did he tell you?" She shook her head no. He sighed, she had been in the dark as much as he is, _was_. He wasn't sure how time worked around here. "Then how did you find out?"

She put down the silverware once again, smiling briefly. "Would you like me to show you?"

He nodded his head vigorously. He was eager for information he had never dreamed of wanting. She stood offering her hand, which he gladly accepted. Her fingers intertwined between his, still ice cold to the touch. They took off in the direction of the watering hole. Before they got halfway, he realized that they left out the food she had worked hard making.

"What about the food you made?" She waved off his concern, pulling him forward.

"He'll finish it all before we get back." Neal accepted her answered, but he couldn't help but wonder, who did she mean by **he?**

* * *

"My shadow, had watched her for years. A slip of a girl born of **_privilege_** , but _not monetary_ in any means, noting her dirty hair and threadbare rags. I had stumbled upon her accidentally actually. But I soon realized fate had wanted me there. I had witnessed that many nights, in vain efforts to distract herself from her abhorred presence, she played by the sea. She played with the creatures, harpies, sirens, and mermaids alike with no consequence. An innocent magic, white in color, one that was incorruptible and unending. Something beautiful and prolific.

"My interest soared. _Neverland_ thrived on beings with such spirit. A child of the ocean, a pure heart of the sea, a fine addition she would make for the island. All I had to do was wait and endure. A small price to be had by a _being_ of limitless potential but finite time. I took this time to learn, play, and move all pieces underlying this newest project. _A game of sorts_. The first of my discoveries would tell me why she possessed the pure green eyes I alone had known. How did this girl have the eyes of an immortal?" Peter paused at a pivotal point, knowing it would irritate the god whom had been hanging onto his every word.

Hades rolled his wrist, insisting the demon boy continue. Pan's eyes gleamed, knowing his tale held true merit. The impatience gesture had proved to Pan his current bargaining power. "Before I continue, I want to know if we have a deal?" Hades grunted in annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"How does one leave the Underworld?" Hades laughed, shaking his head in joyous amusement. Having failed this feat, himself, he saw no harm in telling the boy. He was as unlikely of a candidate to leave here as Hades was.

"Two ways." Vague as possible, Peter noted, this god knew how to play games as well. No matter.

"It wasn't hard to tell she wasn't quite human, but it was a mystery how this goddess ended in such an unfortunate situation. There were many times in my visits that I healed her." He paused, for dramatics and for the god to speak as well.

 _"Thank you Peter." She flexed her finger happily. It has been swollen and crooked for the better part of day. "I wish I didn't have to wait until the sun rests to see you."_

 _He gave a humble smile, trying to conceal his interest. "Miss me?" He teased, watching her unknowingly manipulate the water. She turned away, staring at her newly healed hands. A blush somewhat tangible on her cheeks in the moonlight._

 _She guiltily thought how the use of her finger would have helped with her quilting today. Lord Magnus had thought her stitching had been subpar, causing mother to lash out at her. But to keep herself from crying, she had thought about Peter's visit. He seemed to know that when she needed him most._

 _"And if I said maybe?" He smirked at her uncertain flirting. Of course she wanted his attention. He was the only one that ever gave her any. He talked to her at night. Healed her various wounds, as simple as her broken finger to more gruesome ones, like a half severed toe. He abruptly stood, taking her off guard._

 _"I don't stay around for the promises of maybes." He told her, watching the horror in her green eyes._

 _"No, please Peter stay. I did miss you." He shrugged appearing to take her declarations in a nonchalant manner. Disguising the quivering gleam beneath his skin. The desperation in her tone seemed to excite him a way that others have not. She would soon be his. Just a little bit longer._

* * *

Neal marveled at the spiraling water below, images of the past, and present were right at his fingertips. He saw his father grow up. His childhood had been rougher and more unloving than he had ever imagined. He also witnessed all the time his father spent to get him back. Even though he still couldn't forgive his father for giving him up, he understood why he made the choices that he did. "Whoa, whoa?" The water stood still, he leaned over trying to make sense of the images below. "How is Henry the Author, and when does the Emma become the Dark One?"

"Simple. Fate made Henry the Author, and Emma chose to become the Dark One. But that event hasn't happened just yet."

Yet? Like as in the future? That confused him more, this showed the future as well. How did that-how could- it hurt to try to understand.

"How does that work?" He asked, noticing her green eyes were staring at him once again.

She pointed to the moment Belle and he had trekked the Enchanted Forest to resurrect his father. "This is the present time." No, no it wasn't.

"But this is before I died, that doesn't make any sense." Sunny gave Bae a knowing look.

"Do you really question the parallels of time? Time works different here. Backwards and forwards, everyone here stays the same, if they earned the right to be here." She ruffled the top of his messy hair, "And you, more than anybody have earned that right."

Okay, okay- just basically go with the flow. Don't question things out his understanding unless he wanted a headache. It touched his heart that she truly believed that he belonged here. It made him wonder though.

"What did you do to belong here?" He followed up quickly with, "if you don't mind me asking?" She looked away for a moment smiling coyly. It appeared she knew something more interesting than he did.

"I didn't. Baelfire I'm not dead."

* * *

"Both ways involve another." Hades revealed, "A heart specifically."

The demon child grimaced. Of course, it was something of that nature. Fate could really be a cruel mistress.

"It took a while, but my shadow had found that the people she called family, were not her own. She merely was a means to an end."

 _"Move it girl!" Macy scurried along the tableside, filling the jewel inlaid chalices with rich wine. First Lord Magnus's, his brother's wife, their son, lord Magnus's brother Tiberius and lastly her mother._

 _Cordelia sneered at the girl when she flounced away to the fireplace to check over the stewing vegetables. Too cheerful for her own good. She didn't like the wandering eyes of her husband and his brother. They stared at Macy like she was a piece of meat, frothing at the mouth like a hungry dog. The stupid child was woefully oblivious to the leering of her husband. They would purposely drop cutlery just to have her bend and retrieve it. They were like filthy, lusty animals. The girl was hardly something to look at, barely ripening for her age. Soon Magnus would make a move, pushing aside herself for the little brat._

 _That bottom feeder had already robbed her of some many other chances, she already paid her pence for this life. She bore Magnus a son, and she would be damned if-_

 _"Mother stop!" Macy murmured as Cordelia plunged her hand into the boiling kettle. Fat, pathetic tears rolled down her daughter's cheeks. Despite feeling the withering heat from the pot, she held the girl's hand in the pot for a few seconds longer, for good measure. When she returned the girl's hand, her knuckles were scorched. Bones were almost visible on her fourth finger, it would scarred horrendously._

 _"We could burn our mouths you idiot girl. This has been cooking long enough." Macy bit her lip, trying to avoid making much noise. It would only be worse if she brought more attention to herself. She shouldn't have let the food cook for so long, the guests are getting hungry and restless._

 _Cordelia sat down smug as the others avoided Macaria's sniveling. Well deserved, she thought. That twit should be grateful she even tolerated her presence. A sea goddess, she had to forgo her magical life because of her._

 ** _The moment Cordelia stepped on land regret seeped into her mind. No longer as upset up about being abandoned, but utterly exhausted from the whole ordeal. She looked around the bustling sea port, it was dirty and dank. Curling her lip, seeing she was a few feet from a pirate sleeping in his own vomit and vermin fluttering in the opposite direction. She had to find someone to take care of her, man of sorts, but- she looked down at her growing stomach. Men of worth wouldn't want to provide for a bastard, in all honesty, she didn't want to provide for the child. Its father... he-he left her. Poseidon attempted to quell her feelings, her distrust and betrayal. But in her emotion and anger she made a rash decision to leave. She sauntered passed a pub trying direction in this gutter of a town. Due north, there were rolling hills that bathed in the sunlight. To east, a thick grove that lead towards Broceliande. Due West was her former home, the sea. And here she stood in the middle of it all in this, with no clue where to turn._**

 ** _"Greetings lass." Her green eyes meet the bloodshot eyes of a seedy looking man. His breath smelt like rum, his waistcoat and frock slightly disheveled, but expensive looking. "Look at bit lost ay?" His eyes flourished on her brassiere long enough to understand the sudden attraction. She wasn't dressed like the other woman, nor was she a prude. This man thought of her as a working maid, a prostitute._**

 ** _"Possibly." He chuckled pulling her close._**

 ** _"Lord Magnus to your rescue my lovely."_**

 _She stared at her son, Marcus. He was certainly, average for a growing boy. He had been her ticket to a rather comfortable life despite the other problem. The smell of singed flesh made her wrinkle her nose. She slapped her daughter's hand, it smelt appalling. The problem dared to make another appearance._

 _"Boy." Magnus addressed his son, while staring at his wife's daughter, "Take her to the barn it's time for her chores." The bint sniffled at her dismissal. Cordelia smirked._

"But not to me, she was a prize to be had. I couldn't help myself, innocence with a golden soul and near black heart. She touched death in every waking moment, only to greet it each time as an old friend. A forgotten daughter." Hades sputtered.

In the hearts of all hearts, he knew there only could be one.

"Whose daughter?" Peter smirked knowingly, the king of hell was losing his composure. His just raised a brow. "Whose daughter?" Hades repeated, no longer in the mood for Pan's games. Peter decided to mock the impatience god, causing Hades' head to burst into his signature blue flames. "WHOSE DAUGHTER!?" Peter Pan smirked, _he never failed_. Hades as literally chomping at the bit trying to suss the information out of him.

"Of an Olympian of course, but she didn't know that." That statement did little to relieve the god, if anything it added wood to the already raging fire. Peter Pan looked expectedly at him, he wasn't sharing this little story for free of course.

"Both options are unlikely as the next. First option: you could use the living heart of another." Hades hadn't been jesting him when he said his options were unlikely. Living people did not come to the Underworld. He continued his story.

"One night they had gone too far. After I murdered her pseudo family, I brought her to Neverland."

 _"Hello Peter." She whimpered, as her feet skimmed the top of the water. She was cradling her face, hiding something terrible. She didn't know exactly how long it had been she found refuge on the abandoned dock. Pan suspected that quite some time had passed, her hair and clothes were slick and heavy from the rain. He sat down beside her, just as he done every night for the past year._

 _"Macy, let me have a look." He demanded, pushing past her hair and hands. He pulled his fingers back, they were thick with clotting blood. They had sliced into her face, a jagged line of marred skin came from the corner of her lips to the middle of her cheek. He waved his hand, only to grunt in displeasure. They dared to cut her, with a cursed blade no less. Her face would forever carry the scars that he could not heal. She began to cry, now relieved in being able to do so._

 _"I'm so ugly Peter! No one will have me." She leaned into her seething friend. Not so much for her pain, but he was angered at their audacity to hurt **his** property. He would make them pay. He rested his chin on the crown of her head, trying to stave off the rage._

 _"We can leave, I can finally take you to Neverland." He felt her shake head slightly, he frowned. "Why not?"_

 _"They'll never let me go. Besides I couldn't leave Marcus, not after everything." He pondered for a moment, coming to a favorable conclusion, he would take the boy as well. He could always use another Lost boy._

 _"Wait here." Macy stumbled, as Peter disappeared. She caught herself roughly from falling. Her heart clenched, when she heard unholy screaming in the distance._

 _"Marcus!" She screeched, scrambling to her feet. The screaming continued. She tripped and stumbled across the muddy pathway back to home. "Marcus!" The noise got louder the closer to house she got. She was nearly there, the front door within eyesight. Suddenly, there was silence, an eerie silence. She slowed her pace, terrified of what she might see behind that door. She turned the brass knob. "Marcus?"_

 _She whispered as she entered the house. She instantly covered her mouth, desperately trying to hold in her own horror. Peter's gaze met her own, a malicious smile seemed misplaced on his face. Bodies littered the floor around Peter's feet. She could tell immediately that they were all dead. She shuddered, trying to hold back a gut-wrenching sob. "Why?" She squeaked. Peter appeared before her._

 _"I did this for you. For Marcus." Her brother stared at the couple from the corner, he was scared stiff from what he had witnessed. Peter had ripped their shadows from their bodies. "They deserved it." He held her shoulders as she shook her head back and forth._

 _"No-" she weakly detested. "My family-"_

 _"Is family supposed to carve your face up?" She sadly nodded, "you know if you would have screamed you could have bled out?" Her eyes widened, she hadn't realized. She hadn't screamed before because she knew her punishment was always worse if she did. She embraced Peter wholeheartedly, he had saved her. He had save her and Marcus. "No more tears Macy, where we are going, it will only be Sunny for now on."_

* * *

Her revelation would have killed him, if he hadn't already been dead. Neal remembered the first time he really took notice of Sunny, she was a mystery wrapped up in an enigma.

 _Baelfire was memorized by the mysterious girl. A timid girl with a rudimentary smile carved across her porcelain skin. A walking contradiction. The girl, Sunny, was of pale complexion, dark snagged dreads, and bashful disposition. A stark contrast to what the name Sunny implied. Bae had imagined a vibrant spirit, with skin kissed by the gods and hair as golden as silk. As much as the other lost boys denied it, she was most likely, but unlikely, in a realistic sense, the truest treasure of Neverland. The whole notion just as jumbled as he thought of it._

 _Day after day, he watched her play with the flamingos. It was endearing to watch her sing and dance around the colorful birds. He never could witness such beauty with his father. She never took part in any of the activities the boys did. The only boys that would speak to her directly were Pan and his club wielding second-in-command Felix. She was virtually mute whenever she stumbled at camp. She would take or leave whatever she wanted or needed. During the nightly feasts and fires she never joined in, but rather sat with Peter as he played his pipes. Bae suspected that her face was flush after Pan spoke quietly beside while sitting on the log, he could never quite confirm whether it was true due to the colorful lick of the flames. Before long with her lithe hand clasped in his, Pan would drag her from sight. And every morning, before the flicker of the starry skies gave way to the blaze of the sunrise, Pan would reappear without a word mention about her._

 _One day, Baelfire gained the courage to approach Sunny while she was in camp._

 _"Why is your name Sunny?" The girl froze, it had been a long time since a regular lost boy had spoken to her. She turned, staring at the newest boy to the island, Bae. Peter had told her that he was important, he would eventually lead them to the heart of the truest believer. She had debated whether she would reply, she had to admit that he was of the courteous sort. His brown eyes matched her own green stare. She opened her mouth, but before she could answer, several of the others had answered for her._

 _"Because she's pale!" Nibs shouted, the boys snickered._

 _"Yeah! She's always first to get burned." The younger of the twins, Devon, added._

 _"I thought it was because Pan named her?" Tootles corrected. A spirited chuckle divided the surrounding group of lost boys. A boy with bright green eyes was staring down in amusement._

 _"Right you are Tootles, right you are." He ruffled the younger boy's hair. "To put it simply, she's the light of this island." Her eyes bored into his own devilish countenance, "And if you get too close you're bound to get burned."_

"How is that possible? Pan-Pan hadn't killed you?" Her face contorted in pain. Almost as if she had bit into a sour lemon.

"Is that what he told you?" She asked, her voice cracking. She was upset.

"No, but I had assumed. The boys hadn't spoke of you, and neither did Pan." She laid back in the dirt, staring at the cloudless sky. There had been a pregnant pause between his statement and her pondering.

"I had been sent away." Neal sighed, all he felt like he was doing was asking her questions. But she had always been less forthcoming. "Alive."

"Why?"

"You cannot stay on Neverland if you're no longer a child." She practically whispered. Neal was beside himself, what did she mean? Here she was, as young as the day he left her behind. This truth was beyond him.

"I don't understand Sunny." Turning slightly, she smiled sadly at him, a fat tear rolling down her marred cheek.

"Sometimes I don't either." That day still haunted her now.

 _She was afraid, which was the first time in a long time. She clutched his hand examining it close rather than look into his eyes. He dropped his playful grin when she averted her gaze. Sunny never shied from his attention, she had done something. He could feel the betrayal in his bones. The tips on his fingers dug into her palm. She relished the contact, his touch was soft as his temper was malicious. Absent in thought, her other hand brushed her stomach unknowingly, cradling her secret._

 _"No!" Peter snarled, ripping his hand from Sunny's grip. She stared crestfallen at his disgust. "Not another one." He bitterly grounded out. With a swipe of his hand, all of Sunny's trinkets smashed to the treehouse floor._

 _"Stop." She cried, trying to piece together a shell necklace the younger boys had made. He glared at her bumbling attempts to repair the damage. But nothing would fix her. His magic disintegrated the shells out of spite. "Why, Peter? What did I do?" He held back, ready to strike her for her sniveling. He detested it before when Fiona had her moods, but he had no patience now for this problem to rise again. He glared at her growing stomach- she bared a death sentence. She was **defying** Neverland's magic. That is what she did! The end of their arrangement, their relationship! She was his! He was supposed to decide when it ended, not her. Not by the bastard growing underneath her skin._

 _"This is all your fault! You did this!" He thundered, just as a crack of lightening brighten the rapidly darkening sky. This side of Peter frightened her, his green eyes screamed murder. Eyes that never had before turned on her. She crawled on her knees across the uneven floorboards. Burs burrowing into her legs. He snatched her hand painfully between his own, no one touched him unless he wanted it._

 _"Please Peter, I'll do anything. I love you." Crystal tears dropped from her hauntingly emerald stare. Love? A pathetic construct. It did nothing but bind your weaknesses for another to exploit. With his other hand, he examined her snaggled hair weaved with beads and feathers. Her skin as beautiful as porcelain plates, that someone had cracked. The blistering red scars and jagged lips reminding him of her pain, and his failure to heal them. While sometimes hard to look at, they left the softest kisses on his skin._

 _And now- He would no longer be able to feel their presence. She ruined everything. Disappointment was an adult emotion. A game he thought he had left behind._

 _"Shadow." He called, noting the confused look in her sparkling eyes. His black counterpart materialized from the storm brewing outside. "Take her where she belongs." He ordered, inciting her grief. The shadow took place of his own grip as he took several paces back. She forced his hand, jeopardizing his place in youth. But he reminded her, **he never failed.**_

 _The other boys never spoke of it. The very screams that shuttered the island. The shrill cries that pierced the veil of sudden storm. The disappearance of Sunny signified her death in their minds._

* * *

"I thought girls were not your sort- it was called- the Lost Boys, wasn't it?" Hades stumbled over his confusion, trying to understand Pan's logic.

"Immortal beings were always a fascination of mine. Hence the mermaids, the wingless fairy **and her**." Peter hadn't been the only one interested in the girl. And at this moment it was still the case. He paused again, an arch of his eyebrow challenging the millennials old God.

"The final option to restart your heart: you must have your true love's kiss. Their heart beating for you will restart your own." The boy's eyes narrowed, the unlikeliness was palpable. Peter Pan didn't love, and he couldn't bring the one who loved him down to the Underworld. It was magically impossible. Forcing opposite sides of magic to work together would be too volatile. Sunny could never reach this plane, just as her father could not reach the other, their powers, their destinies did not intermix and never could intermix. People either came here, or went to the place of the blessed, neither of which Peter or her dear ol' father would ever breach. Hades had to have something else to give him, those could not be his only options.

"As much as she played with the sea creatures, I had incorrectly assumed she was the offspring of another. Until one day, I saw what she had done to the shadows."

"Had done?"

"She had sent some off to a certain place, another island in which they could make peace." If Hades' heart hadn't already quit beating, it would have stopped altogether at those words. **The Island of the Blessed.** _The goddess of a blessed death._ He had spent so much time looking for her, trying to bring her home, _to him_. "And that's when, I had decided to make her mine." Hades eyes now narrowed at the boy, what had he done? "In retrospect, a perverse blight on my part. Unnatural desires of flesh for a forever boy."

 _"Will it hurt?" Her face was flush, her lips and scars puckered with excitement. Peter could feel a smile form on his lips, of course, she would be in pain her first time. His fingers slinked under her tunic once again. She gasped, "Peter?" He could feel the heat of her body move through the tips of his exploring digits. This was-wasn't right. A boy shouldn't feel way, his body pulsing with needs of a man. But he relished the power she emitted, the power she displayed. She had blessed the shadows to an entirety of peace. She had power over death itself. Something that Peter had only dreamt of being able to do. He looked around the two of them, they were on one of the many beaches and he had her current pinned against the trunk of a tree. Not romantic for the girl's first time, but this would be far from the being the only time. He would have ample opportunities to make it up to her, **over and over again**. For now, he was going to take what only she could provide; her untainted womanhood._

 _"Only for a moment." He purred._

* * *

"But you can't age on Neverland! How- _how_ could-"

Before Neal could ask, he could hear rustling in the field behind them. Sunny smiled as she heard her child's laughter. A little boy, maybe five or six years old jumped out of the long weeds laughing and screaming as he jumped onto Sunny. "Hey, hey baby," she whispered, attempting to calm the boy down, he was a squirming ball of energy, "Do you remember who I told you was coming?" The little sandy brunet excitedly nodded his head.

"Bae!" The boy knew his name. Turning to Neal he stuck his chubby little hand out. He couldn't help but smile at the little boy, his laughter and excitement was contagious. It reminded Neal a bit of how he imagined Henry would have been at that age. He clasped his hand, around the little boy's. Taking note of similar tunic and pulsing forest green eyes.

"Bae, I would like you to meet my son, McKinley. He's your uncle."

* * *

"What did you do to her?" Rage consuming his dark soul, if this foul boy did anything to hurt her, he was-

With a smirk, still in place, Peter revealed what he did. "Despite all odds, and time standing still. She found herself swelling with my child. The goddess in her." He assumed at least. "There has to be other options?" He almost said it too casually, as if what he did to her had little consequence.

"What did you do to her and the child?" Hades ignored his question completely.

"Information for information. A deal I believe we made?" Peter rebuttal.

"What did you do?" Hades demanded again, disdain practically dripping with each word. Peter shrugged, unrelenting on his side of the deal. Several moments of silence passed between the two before they both had come to the same conclusion, they had reached an impasse, which neither were willing to cross any farther for the other. Hades stared at the green-eyed façade before storming his way out of the shop.

One way or another, he was going to see his dear Macaria. He just needed to force Zelena's hand, for her to see him for who he was. He was going to get his daughter and get his revenge on his brothers.


	2. Part II

**A/N: So long time no see! I was inspired to write another part thanks to all your nice messages and reviews. I have honestly been working on this since I posted the first part. lol I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. I do have ideas for another part or two yet if you're interested.**

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD**

The days had all begun to merge and muddle into one monotonous nightmare for Peter. He would leisurely wake up in what he presumed was the mornings, only for his narrowed eyes to meet the light of the red sky: The damning redness that would neither differ from nor truly mimic the world above.

His meals would yield the same deplorable conditions, with overcooked eggs and a bitter notion of loneliness.

He flexed his magic, trying to free it from its after-death constraints – only for it to dwarf his previous ranges. He had depended on the shadow and Neverland's resources more than his own meager talents. He was a fool to trust in fate. Darkness befell him as the window shades began to unfurl. He was a fool to trust in himself.

He researched and schemed – only to become frustrated at every turn. Hades' riddles mimicked tinnitus in every moment a moment of silence _… "Both ways involve another, a heart specifically."_

He would tolerate his pitiful existence as long as he could stand – sometimes even devoting himself to the upkeep of his shop - to keep himself from pulling at his hair in boredom.

 _"The living heart of another…or your true love's kiss."_

Peter abruptly turned, dragging the bristles of the broom harshly along the floor. He needed to escape from his thoughts. He grimaced at the display case near the corner of this hellscape.

 _One little trinket that had signified such destruction…_ A familiar shell necklace he had obliterated in anger. It brought back such twisted… _but wondrous memories._

The crudely constructed jewelry signified his downfall. The addictive rush of discovering… integrating… claiming…. all that was Sunny. The girl that could have prevented everything.

 ** _He left her in the jungle on purpose._** _She had a natural intuition with nature, never truly lost in directions._

 ** _He had tricked her into the Echo Caves._** _Her greatest desire was pathetic. She had wanted to matter, to someone, to everyone. How worthless she believed her existence to be. How insignificant and broken she truly felt._

 _How attention-starved she really was. One lingering look, or a compliment would make her pliable and compliant._

 _Then he began to up the ante, he needed to know how valuable Sunny would be for him._

 _Before Sunny could think, the ground beneath her crumpled, sending her flying into the abyss below. "PETER!" The troop of boys, dropped to their knees peering frantically over the cove's edge. The younger boys hollered in panic unison._

 _"Sunny!"_

 _"Sonny!"_

 _"Sunnae!"_

 _"SUNNY!" Marcus bellowed, horrorstricken as he watched her fall closer and closer toward the bottom._

 _Rufio and Felix flinched when she hit the water, the impact almost sounding like a canon firing. If the fall didn't snap her neck, the mermaids would soon tear her apart. The splashing of water and the sloshing of scaled tails, they knew she was done for. Those harpy witches would drown her and munch on her bones._

 _"Show's over boys!" Felix called, trying to corral the younger ones from also plummeting to their death, but Pan raised his hand._

 _"Just wait." Anxiously, bubbles began to rise below. To Felix and Rufio's surprise, Sunny broke the water's surface…unharmed?_

 _She spit out some water, her braids sweeping across her face like branches. Sunny was hardly amused at falling in, but she stuck her tongue out in good humor. "Care to join me?"_

 _She splashed and kicked the water at the horrified boys. Rufio and Felix shook their heads in guilty interest, as there were mermaids in that lagoon. The fishy creatures usually were murderous in nature, but oddly, they were keeping their distance, mesmerized by her presence as well._

 **He had been the cause of her fall** , knowing he might have sent her plummeting toward a terrible death.

She had survived, much to the Lost Boys' disbelief. He, on the other hand, was elated. The girl was certainly blessed with the graces of godlike protection. The mermaids around Neverland were vicious and vile, Sunny wouldn't have lasted otherwise.

 _Peter became enthralled with Sunny. Capitalizing and monopolizing more and more of her time._

 _"Do you see the horizon?" She observed the reds and oranges fold into purples and blues of the sleeping sky. The twinkling of the stars already appearing on the edges of the space._

 _"Yes, it's beautiful Peter." He chuckled, knowing where her thoughts would lead her._

 _"Do you see below you?" Her head dipped, staring out the thicket below. They were on Deadman's Peak, observing the rolling sea, the campfire smoke and swaying of the tree line._

 _"Everything," she said, revealing a shy smile. Pan pulled her close, returning her smile with a cheeky grin of his own._

 _She doesn't see the truth. The thoughts that Peter had when she was warming his bed. To her, he was merely smiling, nothing of his true nature. And it would tear her heart to pieces to know otherwise._

 _In all her naïve innocence, and wondrous oblivion, she was growing to love him. Her love was hard… it was fast._

 _No matter what tricks he played, what violence he committed, what atrocities he planned, her passion continued to grow. A devilish boy whose ruthless facade masked his darkest truths. He was neither a boy or in love. He knew what he desired and hindered him._

One Lost Boy though, hadn't like what he was doing with Sunny. Showing his distaste for his antics so plainly.

 _"Pan."_

 _Peter sighed, knowing Rufio had some type of discord with his plans._

 _"I don't like this. Hasn't she already proven herself?"_

 _Peter turned towards his underlining. The younger boys relied on Rufio's directions and Pan relied on him to follow his orders, but lately - in fact, anything to do with Sunny - had put the two at odds._

 _"Being a girl, Sunny has had a lot more to prove." Peter tried to sidestep Rufio's question._

 _"I know you've been testing her, the games, the hunts, but pushing her into the lagoon? She could have been killed over your curiosity!"_

 _Peter turned, grinning like the devil he was. "Figured me out, have you?"_

 _Rufio stepped back, putting distance between the two of them. He refused to meet his wicked smile, "No."_

 _He paused for a moment, then added quietly, "No I don't. But I wish to, before you hurt her." His ears burning red, mimicking the shade of his hair._

 _Peter's smile grew viciously as his eyes narrowed. The boy had developed a crush... on his property. How unsatisfactory that was._

 _"Don't look at me like that."_

 _Peter's eye nearly twitched in anger. Rufio was becoming troublesome to him._

 _"Are you presuming you have control over me?" Rufio knew the question was bait, everyone on the island knew the answer; no. Nobody told Peter Pan what to do._

 _Rufio tried to deflect, "You've had her in most of the terrible parts of the island-"_

 _"Your point," Peter heckled, trying to get a rise from Rufio. The boy's hands clenched in frustration._

 _"What next? Leaving her to wander the dark hollow?"_ _The excited look in Peter's eyes made Rufio sputter, waving his hands frantically. "No. No. I was jesting, Pan. Please don't do that."_

 _Peter clapped the boy on the shoulder, causing him to go stiff. "A brilliant idea Rufio."_

* * *

 **THE ISLAND OF THE BLESSED**

Sunny sat by the pond for hours, days, weeks at a time. Any time that she knew McKinley was asleep. Neal couldn't believe how fixated she was at watching the real world. Perhaps she had been alone for so long that she would rather watch the world turn in silence than enjoy the afterlife.

Most of what she watched was equally interesting and revolting. Often, he could recognize Neverland dancing in the swirling waters.

Neal engaged her in conversation as much as he could. There was so much about his friend that he never had the courage to ask before. They talked about her brother, and her home life.

Neal realized as much as he hated his father sometimes, he had never treated him with such cruelty as Sunny's mother had. To be maimed and forced into servitude for her mother's "family" was… in some ways he couldn't find demented words that reflected that deplorable environment she grew up knowing. Perhaps in some ways, Neverland had been a paradise for her. This sweet gullible girl swept away by a boy, whose bread and butter were fabricating and bearing tall tales. But Peter Pan did nothing for free; that monster always had an agenda.

Healing Sunny repeatedly, for example. He could have taken her right away if he had wanted to spare her from suffering. No, he had played the game well. He had bided his time, gaining Sunny's trust. Spent enough resources until she, a battered teenager, had tunneled her vision of the world until it only revolved around him.

 _Peter this, Pan that._ Neal's stomach squirmed uncomfortably when she spoke so highly of him. If only she had met someone prior to meeting Pan. She could have lived a different life.

"Have you ever loved anyone other than Pan?" Sunny didn't turn, or answer Neal quickly. Her shoulders tensed, her back hunched over as if choking down a sob. Once a minute had passed, all Neal could understand was a whisper.

"Perhaps once." Neal stared at the magical pool of water, a boy maybe sixteen or seventeen appeared on the surface. He had a tan complexion, perhaps of Asian descent. His hair was split into three Mohawks, and red in nature. His clothes were purposefully torn and fringed. His jewelry was outrageous and crudely fashioned, perhaps something the boy made himself. He briefly wondered what land Sunny had come from, if boys had dress in such a manner.

Another image shimmered across the surface, the same boy smiling, handing a club to Felix. Neal sputtered, "Was he a Lost boy too?"

* * *

 _But that hadn't lasted long._ Peter Pan would never give in to the weak will of others. _He-_ Peter paused, _a freshness lulled over him._ It was something he couldn't quite-

"And here I thought story time had ended?" Peter hadn't needed to turn around to see who had entered his shop. Only one soul in this wrenched reproduction of Storybrooke would dare to ask something of him, the Lord of the Underworld had decided to pay him another visit.

Peter smirked.

Hades glowered in return.

He had kept his distance from the demon boy, only to find himself in need of favor from him. A situation he never fathomed to be in.

"Pan."

"Business or pleasure?" Peter asked, while smoothing down his waistcoat. He had no desire to be in a pissing match with a God of Death, he just wanted to get on with his pathetic day.

"What have I done to be graced with your presence?" Only moments in his presence and Hades' head ignited in blue flames. "You felt it too." Peter surmised, referring the magical disturbance he had felt moments before.

"Would you be interested in a deal?" Peter's eyes sparkled with disbelief. Hades must be jesting at his expense. Hades counted the miserable seconds off until the boy understood the premise of his words.

"Another?" The boy smirked, "Interested in another story, are you?"

"Perhaps." Hades was reluctant in answering and falling into the clutches of this devilish boy's wiles. "Specifically about how you entrapped," Hades sighed before whispering her name, "Marcaria." Peter cocked a single brow, a tingling spread across his chest. _Had he misheard? Had Hades asked his…_

Pan was gobsmacked at the indication. _A god was_ …Peter chuckled. He would entertain this inquiry for a price. He held his hand towards the god to which Hades acquiesced.

In all seriousness, Peter leaned forward, "First you stake out your competition. For me, his name was Rufio."

 _It all started the day she could hear voices. These boys, boys she didn't recognize, begging to leave the island._

 _She was the only one who acknowledged them. The other boys couldn't or wouldn't register the howling coming deep from with the forest. As she drew closer to the cries, the darker the forest became. She could no longer hear the rustling of animals in the brush._

 _And then she saw him._

 _"Rufio!" Sunny was barreling out from the dark underbrush, she paid no mind to the twigs and leaves stuck in her hair._

 _"Sunny!" He approached her with the same addictive vigor. She was smiling as bright, to others it was a disturbing sight, her mutilated smile showing the intricate workings of her teeth and muscles, but Rufio didn't see that. He saw the laughter and jubilation beneath her grin._

 _She clung to his arm excited bouncing back and forth. "Rufio, I can do something new!"_

 _"Oh?" He indulged her, despite the seedy feeling developing in his gut._

 _"Yes, I didn't even realize it until Peter ask me what I was doing!" Rufio really didn't like the direction of where this was going. His smile turn downwards, crossing his arms over his chest._

 _"Where were you and Peter?" He slowly asked._

 _"The Dark Hollows." The pair's attention snapped towards Pan's voice. He had been watching him from above in the tree._

 _Peter watched Rufio's nostrils flare, green was an unusual color for his disposition. It amused him. "What were you doing there?"_

 _Sunny took the chance to answer, shaking Rufio's arm again in enthusiasm. "I started hearing voices! And, and these voices, I didn't recognize them." Her eyes lit in excitement. "So I followed them. They drew me toward the inner part of the island."_

 _Disappointed, Rufio asked, "You followed voices of people you don't recognize?"_

 _"No. Well yes! I knew it wasn't a trap! No one was there! Nothing penetrated the darkness, no animals, not even the light. They were calling for me!"_

 _"Them?"_

 _"The shadows of those who died here." Rufio understood, any derelict who refused to cooperate and Pan's shadow tore theirs from them. Not many, but it had happen. "They were begging to be free."_

 _"And what could you do?" Peter's lips split in a sinister grin making Rufio nervous. Whatever Sunny had done had pleased Pan._

 _"I handed them over to death!"_

 _Rufio coughed, feeling his chest pinch and contort, "What? What do you mean? Gave them death?" She shook her head and hands in quick disagreement._

 _"Death, death the man who I've always seen. I thought he was an imaginary friend, because no one else can see him. He is Death!" Sunny could hardly contain her excitement, she was practically shaking Rufio._

 _He vaguely recognized the man she described. In her slumber, she mumbled about a man in billowing robes. Marcus had told him and Pan in confidence, wondering whether his sister was plagued with hysterics._

 _"How do you know?"_

 _"Peter asked me to ask his name!" She frowned slightly, "Isn't it sad that he had to think about it? He almost forgotten his own name, he hadn't heard it in so long."_

 _"Oh... is Death nice?"_

 _"Yes, indeed. He is very kind, but very busy." She paused, her eyes catching another's. "Marcus! I have to tell you something, wait up!" Sunny barreled away from Rufio toward her younger brother. Rufio stood bewildered momentarily. He flinched to hear Pan jump from the tree to stand next to him._

 _"Sunny the seer of Death. Your plan went off without a hitch Rufio. You must be proud." His stomach turned over itself. It wasn't pride he felt, it felt like snakes slithering in his belly._

 _"What does it mean for her?"_

 _"Two things really. One, I know who her father is, and two- She. Is. Mine."_

* * *

Sunny's gaze turned cold, splashing the water in an attempt to disrupt the image. Seeing Rufio's smiling face brought a familiar throbbing to her chest.

"Who was he Sunny?" Neal was interested how sweet friend had fell in love with a monster. Was the boy before him responsible?

"You've never met him," she admitted, pain cradling each word delicately, "Did anyone ever tell you about Felix's brother…." She paused, a tight wheezing clenched her chest, thinking of him caused her great sadness.

"Do you want to talk about him?"

"No Bae. I do not." Rufio's death had caused a rift between her nature and her true self. She did some dark things in the wake of his demise. Something Bae wouldn't understand – not completely.

Neal sat down, stretching his legs out before him as if to get comfortable next to her. "Well we can talk about whatever you want." It made her lip quiver, she dropped her face to hide behind a wall of her hair, trying to dispel the overwhelming feeling of self-disgust. She had done such horrible things in her grief, and Bae would never forgive her.

 _It had been hours since the boys had lit the pyre. She could tell since the sky slowly darkened and the moon and stars began to shine brilliantly. She wanted to curse at the stars. This was not a night to burn bright. This was a night of mourning. Tears streamed down her cheeks as murmurs of despair left her crooked lips. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair!_

 ** _"Save your tears, live your life."_** _She stomped her feet, turning away like a pouting child._

 _Sunny mumbled furiously through her tears. How dare he-_

 ** _"Macaria there is no reason- "_**

 _"How am I... supposed to live...without him!" She was struggling not to let a sob escape. Her appearance pained him, if she could fathom beyond his dark hood she would see the struggling pity seeping into where his eyes should be._

 _She had attempted to gather herself together before they had burned the body. Her neck was adorned with sea shell necklaces and her dark hair had beautiful turquoise feathers and silk ribbons woven intricately together. She wore the darker of her pelt dresses: It had been a sweltering day, but she had few complaints. Lastly, she had taken the time to gather a droopy flower that bore a sweet fragrance._

 _But now, her hair was tangled as if she was pulling at the ends. Her large bouquet of succulent flowers was wilting in her grasp and were laying limp in the crook of her arm. Her pale skin blotchy, but her eyes had reminded dearly of a ruined Christmas. The redness in her eyes made her green irises more prominent and defined in her sadness. He yearned to comfort her._

 _Death reached for her, " **To love what I have touched, Macaria it's-"** she jerked away glaring at what she thought had been her friend._

 _"You are going to lecture me on what you can do?" He reached his decaying hand out to comfort her._

 _She pulled away from him again... and again, feverishly shaking her head in anger._

 _"Don't touch me..." she kept putting as much distance as she could between her and- an immortal being that could pierce the veil anywhere… at any moment. He appeared before her once more, only for her to step forward, rather than retreat. She accepted his touch but regarded him in a way he hadn't seen. Disgust. Hatred. Revenge. Bitterness disguised her features in a way he would have never recognized. "I will make you regret ever speaking to me. I'll give you so much... I'll-just you wait."_

* * *

"Next step, you end them," he told Hades a gleam of memory fresh in his mind, "But it is important, mind you…you cannot be involved."

He rolled his eyes, "Involved? Only the weak leave loose ends."

Peter agreed, "Yes you need the perfect diversion. And mine… well… had played their part well, even if they hadn't realized it then."

He knew who Hades had chained up and tortured, a familiar face, and a familiar scapegoat for Peter. **Killian Jones.**

 _Peter had her observing from a slightly slight distance. Today he had business with the swashbuckling pirate…whether he knew it or not._

 _Hook stood, narrowing his eyes – whether from the blaring sun or for the devil that had summoned him. Either way, Hook was none too thrilled with this jaunt._

 _Pan approached, a confident gait. "You disappoint me Captain."_

 _Killian had prepared for this…disagreement, the last mission abroad entailed a hunt for something Pan dearly sought for, but a few run-ins with rum and the crocodile...well things ... had gotten out of hand to say the least. "Aye, but you knew this when the Jolly Roger returned. Despite this recent blunder, here my ship and crew are at your service."_

 _"Pretty sentiments – but nothing more than false promises, captain." Hook could feel the ominous pretense in the boy's words. He could see the other boys were scattered among the beach front - while that unfortunate girl was spying from a treetop - it felt as if he was being set up for ambush._

 _Peter spied the Captain's hand inching toward the hilt of his weapon, to which he raised in brow in mock disbelief. Resulting in a terse glare from Hook, he knew the boy was inclined to seek retribution rather than talk it over._

 _"I will not be pawn in one of your games Pan. I've come to settle this matter with good form."_

 _"Good form? What a laugh." A magic bean appeared in Pan's possession, "this what truly looking for, isn't it?"_

 _Hook reaches for the bean, only for Peter to switch hands. Another dramatic puff of smoke and the bean in Pan's right hand had changed form, now a mere shell in his palm. Then the shell disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hook was annoyed to say the least._

 _"I have no use for parlor tricks boy."_

 _Peter opened his arms wide, gesturing to the island as a whole. "But can't you see, Captain, I'm full of tricks and games. But you-" Pan stepped forward leaning uncomfortably close for Hook's liking, "it appears as Childs play. For me, it's part of the rules. You will play by my rules and my games. I would be dull boy indeed, if I didn't see your words for what they are. You seek escape from my island, but Captain, dear Captain, you will leave when you have MY permission. And if it's a magic bean you seek, you will have to do my bidding or dare try to take one for yourself."_

 _A challenge, Hook realized, the boy was offering a challenge._

* * *

Sunny slept very little that night. Her mind kept wandering back to her and Baelfire's conversation by the pond.

"Rufio." She whispered his name like a prayer. She had searched for him extensively in the afterlife, but she hadn't found him. Not once.

She desperately wanted to cleanse his death from her guilty mind.

Sunny could easily dub that day as one of few worst days in her life. The memory of his demise was still so fresh after all these years. That day's encounter with the pirates had changed everything. It had been all her fault. She had thought she was impervious to Death's devices, but her oldest friend had proved her wrong that day.

 _A flash of silver._

 ** _A bone-chilling scream._** _He pulled the blade from him._

 _A flash of silver._

 ** _A bone chilling scream._** _He pulled the blade from him once more. Silver stained in red._

 _The thump of a body._

 _Captain Hook wiping the bloody blade across his trousers. It was as if time was moving in slow motion._

 _"RUFI-OOOOO!" Sunny scrambled through the hot sand, tripping and slipping as she dodged various blades and hands that reached for her._

 _Red was dribbling from his mouth. A gurgle bubbling through his oozing chest._

 _Rufio, her heart cried. She dropped to her knees to help him._

 _The pearly white sand was sticking to his arms, his legs, and his hair. No, he was so proud of his hair. She began feverishly wiping the sand from his hair. "You'll mess it up." Rufio choked out, trying to push her hands away. Sunny let out a nervous laugh, he could barely hiss in a lungful of air. The mohawks were caking with the scarlet ruin pooling beneath his body, overwhelming the berry color he used to color his locks._

 _He began gasping as she cradled him._

 _"No. No. No." She pressed her hand against his chest, trying to stop the bleeding._

 _This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to carefree Rufio. Not the boy who rimmed his eyes with ash from leftover fires or braided necklaces from the bones of their meals. Not the boy who showed her how to overcome her adversity to rope swings and climbing large trees. Not him, not her friend._

 _The thick liquid was seeping through her hands._

 _It was futile._

 _Death was looming over the two._

 _His face was paling considerably in the dying sunlight. "Rufio please," she begged, "please don't go." She tried to wipe the tears clouding her vision, her face now marred in the ichor of her friend – "Please don't take him. Please don't!"_

 ** _"I must Macaria. It's his time."_**

 _"But I don't want him to." Death nodded but leaned down to touch his head. "Please, please." And with Death's touch, Rufio became limp in her arms._

 _Her devastating wails were etched into the minds of all who fought that day. Pirates and Lost Boys alike, no one would forget the day that Sunny cried over Rufio's lifeless corpse. It was the last day any pirate of the Jolly Roger stepped foot on Neverland's soil._

* * *

"Love ruined her." The devilish boy smirked, "her love for Rufio died along with him. As Sunny crumbled into herself, she latched on to the one whom had lived for her." Peter gestured to himself. "I became everything that the dead couldn't be, and she became everything that I desired."

 _He cracked his neck before glancing over at Sunny._

 _Dead heroes were nothing to mourn for. He scowled, she was an unseemly mess crying over Rufio's body._

 _The other boys had given her a wide breadth, except for his second in command. Felix loomed over her shoulder. His slashed face mattered little as he stared down at his dead brother. His own wounds dripped blood down in an irritated fashion._

 _The swelling sadness began spreading to the weaker boys first, just as an epidemic would target the young. Weepy, pathetic tears, snot dribbling down their chins… disgusting. Peter had no time for it. He knew what would turn this tide of self-pity._

 _"It would be rude to forget our guests, boys," he stated, smiling wickedly. They had managed to capture three of Hook's crewmen as the cowards retreated. Two of the three were bound and gagged, pleading for their freedom, while the third was nearly close to death himself- the boys hadn't even bothered to tie him up._

 _Now, he had their attention._

 _He circled the frantic pirates, kicking sand into their faces. The two lucid ones plead and cowered, while the half comatose pirate proceeded to lose control of all body functions, pissing down the front of his trousers._

 _"What should we do boys? Torture them?" He stopped suddenly in front of one, causing him to fall onto his back trying to keep his distance. Peter turned to the boys again. "Spare them?" He began to circle the pirates again, until a voice finally broke from the crowd._

 _"No." The answer came in a whispering voice. The boys turned to the only one who could speak so surely. Usually the boys let Pan choose his option. Her scarred hands were seeping in the last of Rufio's blood, her hair momentarily obscuring their view of her._

 _"Speak up Sunny," Peter hissed. He wanted to make a show, to prove to the pirates what crossing him had led to. If Sunny wanted to interfere due to her womanly delicacies… she will rue ever interrupting him._

 _"No." She raised the tip of her chin upright snarling and angry. Her green eyes watery with tears. "Give no quarter Peter." The demon boy smiled, "Make them understand…Peter…that…they…will…lose."_

* * *

She stared down at McKinley. He certainly had lived long enough to be an older man, but in this realm, he remained a younger boy. Slowly, he would grow into young man, although she would remain relatively the same.

Impartial and confusing, she had argued semantics with Death several times, only to accept a truth she didn't understand. But she didn't lament, she was given more time than an average person to spend with her son. He was the light in her eyes, the reminder of a beautiful truth, the love her and Peter once shared.

But... there seemed to be that impending... what if...What if her son grew to learn what his parents had done in their grief? What if he discovered that in that time of mourning his parents had decimated small factions of people who did relatively minor offenses against them?

 **Death** for failing to ask permission.

 **Death** for those who dared speak Rufio's name in vain.

 **Death** because she felt like hurting someone else, instead of dealing with her pain herself.

So much senseless killing to punish Death himself. He dared take Rufio, she dared to take as many as she felt deserved so. A time in which she wanted to prove to Death, she was not the better part of him. She was vindictive and angry.

Love had destroyed her. Rufio's death had destroyed her, which made her fall head first into loving Peter.

Her life was devoted to nothing less than to the boy who loved her enough to live. A better part of a hundred years passed, and she became less angry, and less defensive. She grew quiet and meek once again. Any newer boys thought she was mute due to the communication barrier. Felix and Peter took care of what little things she needed to be said.

Peter had assuaged much of her yearning for destruction over that period. They had made many great things, great chaos, and great love. Focusing solely on Peter had brought her more joy that she knew what to do with.

And then... she coughed - her throat suddenly parched - a great sadness. She had to leave. Leave her love for another, her son. If the day every came, where he would learn the truth, she hoped McKinley would forgive her.

But tonight, she would appreciate her son's innocence.

* * *

"She trusted you entirely?" Hades sounded skeptical. Was his daughter's naiveté that apparent? Was love truly that blind in the world of ugly truths?

"Yes, and she followed my every whim and desire from there on out." Peter paused, his gaze affixed Hades with a sharpness. "Why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to trade banter about the women not in our life." Peter looked doubtful. "Well not in my case, soon I will be reunited with my love. All I need is your son to do so."

"Rumple?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"Yes, the Dark One."

"I'm already dead how I-," realization crossed Peter's face, "Oh that little cheeky bastard. It's his blood you need then."

"Unfortunately, he is bringing a few… problems with him as well." Specifically, the savior. Hades hadn't anticipated that.

"Too bad you don't have someone who could take care of your problem for you. Sunny had always readily dealt with mine."

 _"Well look at you," the demon child circled around her. There she was, so broken. Her hair lackluster and unruly._

 _So despondent._

 _Her expression was numb._

 _And missing her wings._

 _She was now on her knees subservient to his wishes._

 _He stared at her like she was a freak exhibit from a traveling band of royal minstrels, with equal parts of interest and disgust. "How the destroyer of dreams has fallen. Here boys," he gestured towards Tiger Lily, "look at the wingless fairy trying to seek refuge in Neverland. And without my permission."_

 _He tutted, in a ridiculing manner. "I am rather insulted. And here I thought we were such good friends."_

 _Tiger Lily gritted her teeth. She did not know of this Peter Pan, but he did know of her. Her former life. Her powers. Her failures. Had she unintentional wronged this boy in another life?_

 _"I hadn't meant any harm. I just want to live in peace," she admitted, hoping this small band of teenagers and boys would allow her freedom. She just wanted to live with her shame in anonymity. No one to remember the fool that she was but herself._

 _The boy sneered, his teeth ready snarl threats he no longer could hold. "You thought you would hide here, among the Olde Ones?"_

 _She nodded her head slowly, while a worry began festering in her gut. His tone was ominous. She flinched at the rage in the boy's veiled stare._

 _"Mhmm... I thought you couldn't disappoint me much more. Peter Pan is hardly ever mistaken." He snapped his fingers, depositing 20 of the natives onto the beach front. Startled yelps and cries came from them as they were bound and restrained in a similar fashion._

 _"Now, now." He teased with mock reassurance. The natives knew the devil was going to torture them. Their cries and struggles became harsher and more desperate._

 _"Please, your displeasure is with me. They are my only family," Tiger Lily pleaded, she couldn't remember wronging this boy to receive such a terrible response. She had only failed one._

 _"Family, you say? I've only witnessed you tearing them apart," he stated. Her head snapped up in confusion._

 _Immediately, a name stumbled from her shocked lips, " **Rumpelstiltskin**?" Was this the boy she had failed to protect all those years ago? But there wasn't a wisp of Fiona in his features._

 _Suddenly, the island began to stir as the temperature quickly dropped. Pan's form became rigid and cross. The best years of his life had gone without an utterance of that name. His child, the child he abandoned._

 _The boys, especially the younger boys, began to cower in fear. Pan was undeniably angry when the fairy mentioned that name. Only Felix knew the implication of that name._

 _"Sunny," he snapped._

 _The boys parted only for delicate footsteps to reach Peter's side. A girl haunted with her own ghosts of her past. The natives shuddered once again, just from the sight of her._

 ** _Death. Death. Death._**

 _Pan whispered in the girl's ear, the grimace overtook her monstrous profile._

 _His hand feathered through her braided and matted hair, his knuckles only stopping short of her chin. She sighed and acquiesced to his desires. They wouldn't feel any pain. They wouldn't feel much of anything... **anymore**._

 _"Please, don't hurt them." Tiger Lily pleaded. Peter nodded, encouraging Sunny to go ahead._

 _Ignore her weeping sentiment, his voice tickled inside her mind. Show them they are weak, show them that they messed with the wrong family. Lost boys, me, you... she stared at Peter with an endearing gaze…_

 _"Make an example Sunny." She stepped away, and gracefully toward the prisoner natives restrained on the beach. An inkling of hate boiled beneath Sunny's normally docile features, quirking her mangled smile into a fiendish grin. In her eyes, the natives were interchangeable with the Jolly Roger's crew. They would die._

 ** _Death. Death. Death._**

 _They were screaming at her, one tongue - in every tongue - pleading for their lives. She had to protect her brothers from them. This was for Rufio._

 _"No... no... NO!"_

 _Peter leaned down, his teenage wiles darkening quickly as Sunny approached her victims. His devilish smirk seared itself into Tiger Lily's mind, "You run to escape your failures, but…" He pointed at the beach. The screaming lessened as bodies thudded to the sand one by one, "the past doesn't want to leave you."_

* * *

The next morning, on the other hand, yielded some surprises.

"Sunny!" Neal went running through the weeds. "Sunny!" He was tripping over himself trying to find his friend. Something was happening. SOMETHING BIG was happening. "Sunny!"

Sunny smiled, hearing Bae call her in the distance. She opened a shutter of her treehouse, "Bae!" She called back, like it was a game.

She was ready for something... well cheerful. Neal looked winded by the time he reached her treehouse. "Sunny, Emma is going down to the underworld!"

"Did she die?" Sunny asked carefully... Bae shook his head. "So... umm...why is savior-former-dark-one wanting to go there?"

The situation was certainly intriguing, it had her heart pumping with excitement. If others could go to the underworld, perhaps others could get out.

"To save Hook."

Sunny stepped back, her excitement suddenly turned to ire. Neal's eyes widened in surprise; it was uncharacteristic for Sunny to have a temper.

"Captain Hook, as in **Killian Jones**?" She clarified in a chilling tone.

Neal recognized instantly that probably wasn't the best thing to say. Sunny, being an ex-lover for Pan probably had a checkered past with Killian. "We need to stop her, Sunny," he emphasized. Sunny shook her head in absentmindedly in agreement but was trying to process what he said in the last few moments.

"Death," she called, turning quizzically to her left, "would it be possible to relay a message while someone is sailing in between?" Neal had no idea who she was talking to, but that's not exactly what needed to happen.

"No, no." He patted his chest, Sunny paused, to regard him again, "Emma needs to hear it from me, if she doesn't... she'll think it's all a trick." Neal looked desperately between the spot Sunny kept looking to and Sunny herself.

"He says, Bae, go to your happy place and call out Emma's name three times. While she's in between, you will be able to talk to her." Neal nodded, "but you'll need to hurry."

She watched Neal charge toward the amusement park, probably on his way to find the yellow bug. She sighed. "Is it terrible that I want him to succeed?" Death remained momentarily silent.

 **"Not entirely."**

* * *

Hades, in all, was vastly underwhelmed. Pan had kept his story and details rather…vague. But he knew this power play was purposeful. The boy was trying to invoke interest by evading the boastful remarks. Keep Hades wanting to know more, to ask for more… He wouldn't be played so easily this time.

What Hades didn't realize was he had given him all the information he needed. Living souls were coming to the Underworld, which meant living hearts were coming to the Underworld. Hearts that could free him of this wretched place. But Peter would require one… more… thing…

"Perhaps, I would like to strike a deal – a contract appeared suddenly in his hands – in writing this time. I promise not to harm Rumple, IF, your friend, who is older than time, sends a message to your only daughter." Hades knew who he spoke of but would not acknowledge it out in the open.

"Friend?" He gestured to himself, "You believe I have the luxury of friends? I am the king of the Underworld. No one here is worthy of my loyalty."

Peter's brow quirked up. "Is that so?" He dared to step closer, examining the god with a knowing smile.

 _"Who are you speaking to?" Peter had been watching Sunny's lips quirk and she addressed him happily._

 _"They have many names in many cultures," she looked at the nothingness beside her, as if trying to repeat words spoken only to her, "and most only know legends of deities or psychopomps. But Peter, I call him my friend."_

 _Mildly amused, he played into Sunny's naivete nature, "And he is?"_

 _"He beguiles me in times of loneliness, mourns for my pains, and revels in my happiness." Peter's brow's rose instantly as he watched Sunny reach past what he couldn't see. A barrier? It was as if… impossible, Peter thought. She pulled a decaying hand from across the veil, shocking him thoroughly. His presumptions were true. Her green eyes settled on Peter softly, "He is Death."_

 _Peter swallowed down the excitement burning through him, "And you are to him?"_

 _She turned staring almost lovingly into the direction of the invisible creature. Sunny smiled, happiness filling her eyes once more, "He says more or less, I'm the better part of himself."_

The audacity of this smug little bastard, it took all of Hades self-composure to rein in his desire to maim Pan. He was rather limited on options: Rumpelstiltskin's blood was key to the portal he needed.

"Fine." He barked, snapping his fingers. His brand lined the contract line. "What is it?"

His viper smile consumed his face once more, it was almost too easy.

"Tell her…" the pure excitement tingled across his sternum. Not an exact truth, but something that would give her hope and enrage her father at the same moment. "I'll have her again."

* * *

 **"Macaria, my friend."**

Sunny smiled. Only Death would greet her in such a formal way. She carried on, folding the laundry down from her makeshift clothesline. Death accompanied her no matter what she did, mundane or not.

" **I have a message for you."**

Her arms slowed, and she bit her lips anxiously. He usually told her whatever was on his mind. It was strange, like he was informing of her of something she might not like. He had never hesitated before.

"What's wrong my friend?" She reached for his bony hand, he only clutched his scythe tighter.

 **"I'll have you again."** Death disappeared as her heart thumped.

Peter was coming for her.

Peter still loved her.

She watched the swirling waters beneath her feet. The memory revealed itself, the day Peter had expressed his true feelings for her.

 _"You believe that I need friends? No, no." An arrogant utterance. "Peter Pan needs no one."_

 _She bit her trembling lip, dabbing at her tearful eyes. He knew where her mind wandered. She felt unloved, and in many ways still the same, wrapped up in the insecure thoughts that had plagued her, just as when he first found her. Sad, lonely girl. She was dependent on his affection completely. Affection she had earned over time._

 _"But Peter, I thought-" his hand held her head in place, forcing her immortal green eyes into his._

 _"Stop sniveling Sunny, it's unbecoming and, frankly, unwarranted."_

 _She nodded. Peter never liked any trace of weakness, least of all from her. She admired his show of strength when she had so little. His fingers pinched harder, bringing her attention back to him as well as a mild pain spreading through her jaw._

 _"I don't need anything Sunny. And I want for nothing." A small lie on his part, but helpful in this aspect. "I already have you."_

* * *

It almost had become an addiction to watch the water.

Would Peter appear?

Would... her father?

Would they appear together? The rhythm in her chest began to pound rapidly as she began to smile.

Peter had to have asked her father to pass along the message. Death only appeared to someone when they died, which many forgot. Her father, Hades, could summon Death at any time. Sometimes he would appear before something would even happen. He knew where he needed to be, even if it wasn't abundantly clear to her at the time.

After helping Bae to talk with the savior, she couldn't help but impatiently wait for them to come back.

Bae had told her that Emma's intentions were to SAVE Captain Hook. Sunny was mortified that she would want such a thing. Rufio's death... she...She just knew if Emma was successful, Peter and her would make her regret ever doing so. But Bae... she would keep that little bit of information to herself.

Suddenly the pool of water had changed in color, a red... She nearly flung herself into the water with excitement. The impossible had happen.

Her father stepped through with his true love and her daughter.

She went off to tell Bae the good news. She was going to finally meet her father.

* * *

 **STORYBROOKE**

Hades stood adjacent to the window, admiring the small property that Zelena owned. Sparse of others, well isolated and possessing many protections that remained unused. She felt comfortable in her surroundings, something the others would soon take for granted. He would evolve the barb wire fence and aging farmhouse. It was meager, and surprising, but much how he would have imagined it. Soon it would be much more- he, they, would be more than any of those silly heroes would bargain for. And soon she would be able see it. He just had to set the traps.

He smiled, feeling a chill in the frigid air.

"My old friend, how nice it is to see you again." He raised his glass of scotch in greeting. Zelena was out trying to make failed amends with her sister, while the baby was swaddled up in the other room sleeping. She had trusted him to guard her, which he would do until the earth stopped. But he would make his stops around Storybrooke in the meantime. He placed his empty glass above the mantle, Death had always been a silent, solemn sort. Although today, he had brought a guest, someone who was delicate on their feet. "And whom might your friend be?"

A girl coughed, clearing her throat. The feminine tone liven him exponentially. "Papa?"

The horror, the beauty, the anger that cocooned him, swallowed him whole in that moment. Her feet were bare, an oddity in this temperature. Her dress was fastened of linen and pelts, another interesting choice. It held true to the freak show that demon child had claimed. He had scoured time and locations near the oceans trying to confirm the daughter Pan had spoken of. Her face was as ragged and unfortunate as he had seen in memory. The ire bubbled beneath his skin. No one would lay a hand on her again. But that didn't matter, it only tested true to her strength. His eyes met the auspicious green hue of his daughter's. Like emeralds sparking beneath sun. His newly beating heart, palliated hard against his entire chest. She was so precious, the sight of her- it had been a long time waiting.

"Macaria." He held his arms open inviting her in. She fell into his embrace easily, biting her lips to keep from trembling. She had finally found him.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, the very bedrock of Storybrooke shook in tandem climax with the pillars of Olympus. _An ominous warning of the destruction to come._ Both sides of death had been brought together for the first time. The world stood in silence once more, trying to equate for the new-found equilibrium. The love of a family, and the doubled strife of death: The gods were not pleased. Zeus stared down from the heavens, ever vigilant. Danger was imminent, and there was little they could do to stop it.

Their only hope was faith.

 _Their faith in people._

 _Their faith in their abilities._

Humans were flawed, but more powerful than they would ever know. They understood their humility. Their ability to love without profit and save others with sacrifice. Hard challenges lie ahead of the ones who loved their brother the most.

"I need you to do something for me." He whispered in his daughter's ear. Her arms squeezed a little tighter around his neck.

"Anything," she breathed. She would move the Earth leaps and bounds if he asked her so. She never wanted to leave the comforts of his arms. Her father, _her father_ , had been searching for her all this time. Had wanted her! To love her in a way she loved McKinley. A way she had little ground knowing her own.

"Never leave me again." And like that, her happiness came pouring out like compromised floodgates. Her heart fluttered with boundless and ravenous joy. He smirked, resting his head against hers, holding her in his staunch grasp. His fingers were tightly pressed around her back that his could dive through her layers a skin and take ahold of her soul. She was clueless to what he had done and would remain that way until he possessed what he hungered so deeply for, power.


End file.
